An Icy Fury
by Blackberry Explosion
Summary: After the Giant War, Khione discovers that Leo Valdez has escaped Ogygia, where she meant for him to be trapped for all eternity. Enraged, she casts a curse. She can't harm Leo physically, but she can destroy him emotionally. Will Calypso survive Khione's fury? And will Leo be able to reach her in time to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I know it's been a while. But Blood of Olympus is coming out in FIFTEEN DAYS and I wanted to get this Caleo fanfiction idea I've had for a while down. And I'm sure you don't want to hear me ramble, so let's go! **

Prologue

I sit in the center of the frozen tundra, brooding over Gaea's loss. She promised me power beyond measure, the control of all the winds. But all I got for my efforts against the gods was banishment.

At least I got one good thing out of my deal with Gaea. My most hated enemy, the fire user Leo Valdez, was also banished. I put him out of commission, blasted him to the cursed island Ogygia. At least he shares a fate similar to mine. No escape.

I decide that I would like to see his suffering, to ease my own pain by feasting on his. I close my eyes and summon what little power I have left.

The image that swirls in my mind gives less than the pleasing effect I desire. I see a workshop. A workshop? I've seen enough episodes of Calypso on Hephaestus TV to know that there are no workshops on Ogygia. Then he appears. Clanking and clanging and making my day less pleasant. He trips and falls into his chair, knocking something off the table. He shrieks and just barely manages to catch the…rock? I get a good view of it when he draws to to his eye, examining for damage.

It's a crystal. A crystal from Ogygia.

No.

Leo studies it, memory filling his eyes. "I'm coming back, Calypso. I mean it." He smiles a little sadly. Someone yells his name. He shoves the crystal into his tool belt and stands. "Coming!" he calls as he runs out.

The vision fades. Icy rage seeps through my body. Unbelievable.

Not only has Leo Valdez escaped the enchanted island, he's managed to fall in love while he's at it! Because of me!

I scream in anger and frustration. Then I sink into thoughts. The idea of revenge brushes against my mind.

I cannot leave my frozen prison and my powers have been severly limited. Leo is out

of my reach. But there is another way to hurt him. Instead of harming him physically, I can make it so that he will sink into the deepest grief and guilt.

"Oh, sweet young Leo." I mutter. "You soon will realize the hazards and despair of falling in love."

**If the title and chapter didn't help you realize, this is about Khione's anger that Leo escaped Ogygia. Hope you liked! My name is Blackberry Explosion, have a great day! :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, I'm baaaaaaaaaaack! Did you miss me? Here's Chapter 2, or Chapter 1 if you prefer. This will shed some light on what's happening right now in my story, so I hope you enjoy! Lots of Caleo feels in this chapter, for sure! :) **

Chapter 1

"Ow!"

Loud cursing echoes across Ogygia. Calypso yanks her hand back and shakes it futilely before she comes to her senses and sprints to the garden. There she pulls up a herb for burns and places it on her and. The cursing gets quieter.

She's come to appreciate and even envy Leo's immunity to burns. There's a certain danger to working with metals that he doesn't have to be wary of. Calypso walks into the cave and gets a cloth, wets it in cool water, and wraps it around her hand. Her nursing finished, she heads back out to the seeing device.

She thinks if she can just get the seeing device to work, she can use her magic to cast a spell that will let her communicate with Leo. Usually the gods would have done something to foil her plans by now, but if she succeeds, she will be able to warn the Seven of something that might destroy them. They're probably being lenient.

Her dream replays in her mind. Calypso shudders and turns back to the task at hand.

She takes a Celestial bronze wire she salvaged from his campsite and twists it together with another two, careful to avoid and electrical sparking. She works with a frenetic fervor, the likes of which she's only seen in Leo himself.

Calypso has been working on contacting him. It's better than sitting around feeling heartbroken. Not that she isn't heartbroken, but she's channeling her pain into making the seeing device work again. Leo taught her to do that.

At last it is done. Calypso stands, pleased with the fruits of her labor. All by herself, she has discovered the problem that caused the seeing device to break when Leo was here. It was as simple as a frayed wire, something he probably would have fixed had he needed to. Calypso wonders what he would say if he could see what she has done.

The image of her dream slithers into her thoughts, and she shakes herself. She has to reach him.

She takes a deep breath and begins to sing, filling her voice with rich tones that remind one of the memories of childhood and innocence, when the world was golden and new, before the veil of time dulled the senses and the beauty. The screen of the seeing device flickers, sparks, and lights up into an image.

There he is. Sitting at his desk, tinkering with some Imperial gold. A streak of grease adorns his cheek, and his hair is wild and tangled. Calypso's breath catches. Missing him is a constant ache, but now it blossoms into a real pain. Focus, she tells herself. You're on a mission here.

"Leo." she says.

His head snaps up and he locks eyes with her. His eyes bug out in surprise and he almost falls out of his chair. "CALYPSO - what - holy schist-"

"Holy what?" she asks, unable to stifle a smile.

"Schist. It's a rock." He shakes his head. "Wh-what? How?"

"I fixed the seeing device, made it into a communication device." She shrugs. "No big deal."

"No big deal? Are you crazy? That's-you-that's amazing!" He gives her his trademark insane grain, and she feels herself melt. Just a tiny bit. "You're a genius!"

"I know." she says airily, so happy to just be talking to him again and-

She remembers the dream.

"Leo, I have to tell you something." she says soberly.

His smile doesn't waver. "Okay then."

She closes her eyes, opens them, and tells him. "She's after you."

"Who is?"

"I shouldn't tell you. But she's angry. So angry that Gaea lost. And she's angry that you escaped Ogygia. She menat for you to stay trapped here forever."

Realization dawns on his face. "Not her. Oh no." His eyes beg her to tell him it isn't true.

"Yes." she sighs, blinking hard. "I had a dream. I don't know how, but she intends to hurt you."

"Wait a second. Didn't Zeus trap her in, like, Russia?"

"Exactly. She said she couldn't harm you physically because of her imprisonment, but she could drown you in the darkest grief and guilt."

"Happy fun time." He furrows his brow. "I don't know what that means." Something dawns on his expression. Leo bites his lip, then looks away.

Calypso feels a little embarrassed. "Okay. You need to be on your guard though. I don't want-" She stops herself. "Uh, you should tell your friends. They might know what that means."

Leo winces. "About that…"

She looks at him and groans. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"I told Festus." he offers unhelpfully.

She sighs. "You have to tell them soon. For now, just tell them that you had the dream."

He nods, relieved. "Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She looks down, a little thrown by his sudden display of gratitude.

"I miss you." he whispers. Calypso looks up. He's wringing his hands and staring into his lap.

"I miss you too." she says. Leo looks up, meets her eyes, and almost smiles.

"I'm going to come back. I'm working on it." he says. "With the crystal you gave me-"

Not this again. "Leo." He can't come back. His hope is idiotic and fruitless. "I don't know what to tell you. No one can come back. The gods forbid it." She tries to keep any emotion out of her tone and probably fails. "I don't know what still makes you think you can do this. It's _impossible." _

Immediately she regrets what she said. Leo's face falls. She scrambles for an apology. "I mean- not that I don't want you to come back-"

"No. I get it. It's just, well, I've done the impossible before, Sunshine." He looks imploringly up at her. "I really can do this. You'll see."

And now she's going to cry. She sets her jaw. "It's just-"

Her eyes flick downwards to the connected wires resting on the sand. What she sees stops her short. Ice is crawling up the wiring like an ivy vine.

Oh no.

The image in the seeing device flickers. Leo looks worried.

Calypso takes a deep breath. "We don't have much longer. I think I know how she is targeting you."

"How?"

"She's going after me."

Leo stares at her. "No. She can't."

"Don't underestimate her. She is cunning." Calypso warns. "She will stop at nothing to break you."

"I know." he says simply.

"Good." A momentary pause. "Leo, promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Promise me that you won't come back."

"What? No!" he refuses. "I told you! I am coming back!"

"Don't you see?" she asks painfully. "You've doomed me then. You have to let me go. It's the only way."

"No." he says forcefully. "That's not an option."

Leo's face disappears for one, two, three counts. His picture comes back. Calypso's heart feels like it's being bent in half. The wires are almost completely frozen.

"The connection is breaking." she says, her voice trembling. "I'll have to go soon."

Leo meets her eyes, and she's almost scared by the intensity she sees. "Calypso. I _will _come back to you. I _will _get you off Ogygia. I promise."

She feels trapped. But then his images flashes again, and she somehow knows that this is the last moment.

"You can't come back. I'm sorry. I love you. Stay-"

Leo vanishes.

Calypso falters, knowing he is gone. "Stay safe." she says miserably, feeling like he has broken her heart all over again.

She looks down at the wires, but they are completely encased in ice, As she watches, the freeze spreads off the machine and starts to slowly frost the sand. At the same time, it climbs upwards and covers the sheet of Celestial bronze, turning the golden reflection of her face icy blue.

Calypso tries to steady her breathing, but inside, she is already panicking. Khione has cursed her. And right now, she wishes more than ever that Leo was here. Even if he didn't have his fire powers, she just needs a hand to hold through the coming ordeal.

**Big, gigantic ****_uh-oh. _****Next chapter will be Leo's POV, and I'm hoping to alternate in between Leo's and Calypso's, with maybe some Percy, Annabeth, or Piper thrown in. Hopefully I'll finish before BoO, which is what, twelve days now? Eeeeep! Hopefully I can do it. My name is Blackberry Explosion, have a great day! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**HOLY CRAP GUYS ONLY TEN DAYS! **

**So BoO was released in the Phillippines, and you wouldn't believe the dedication. Look it up, but anyone in the Philippines right now, NO SPOILERS IN THE REVIEWS PLEASE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Thanks! Enjoy! **

Chapter 2

Leo stares in shock at the place where Calypso's image had dissipated. She's only been gone a minute and he already misses her so much. Her last words to him replay in his mind.

_"I love you."_ she'd said.

"Then why won't you let me come back to you?" Leo asks her, but she knows she can't hear him. Gods, the absolute worst feeling in the world is knowing that he's broken her heart.

She put on a brave face, but he can recall the pain in her eyes. How broken she had looked.

All he wants to do is fix her, make her laugh at a joke and smile when she thinks he isn't looking. Make everything okay by fixing a loose screw or tightening a wire. But obviously that is just. Too. Much. To. Ask.

Leo groans and slams his head against the table, but that just makes his head hurt. He pulls the crystal out of his toolbelt and twirls it between his fingers. The light catches it and rainbows dart across his palm.

The rainbows remind him of his failed attempts at contacting Calypso with an Iris-message. It was the only time he'd ever seen one fail. Leo had made a rainbow in the sink and tossed in a drachma, but the rainbow had dissolved and the drachma simply fallen through.

He looks miserably at the astrolabe, which looks like it'll be easy to operate but is infinitely complex. He's figured out how to fit the crystal inside but he doesn't understand how it works. It's infuriating.

Leo grabs the astrolabe and inspects it, the Celestial bronze glinting in the light of his desk lamp. Maybe if he screwed it in here…His jumbled thoughts start to erode away as he starts to get into his groove. Suddenly, a burst of inspiration hits. He knows what he has to do.

Festus clicks Morse code in his ear. _Piper alert. _

Not now! Leo sighs. "Thanks, buddy." Regretfully, he shoves the crystal into one of the pockets on his tool belt.

Piper pokes her head in. "Hey, Leo?"

"Sup?" Leo asks, trying for an easygoing smile.

She frowns. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! I am awesome! I'm like a unicorn pooping rainbows…"

Piper doesn't look fooled. Leo stops. "Uh, continue."

"Well, we're having a family movie night and you're 'requested' to attend." Piper informs him, making air quotes with her fingers.

"Let me guess. Requested is Annabeth-speak for ordered."

"Exactly."

Leo sighs. "Okay. Give me five minutes and-"

"No. You come now." Piper tells him, grabbing his hands and pulling him up and away from the table.

Leo struggles, but Piper's grips is strong. "Please, Pipes!" he begs. "Three minutes! Two minutes! Thirty seconds!"

"No way. We're watching The Little Mermaid. It was Percy's turn to pick."

"What happened to all the good movies?"

"Frank threw out all the movies rated PG-13 or above. For Hazel's sake, he said."

"Eh. He probably did it for his own sake."

"You're right." Piper laughs. As she does, her hands go slack, and Leo bolts for his desk chair. Lightning fast, he whips out the crystal and starts manically working, pulling out tiny screws and lengths of Celestial bronze wire like he doesn't need to think about it.

Piper stares at him for a few seconds, which gives Leo enough time to calibrate the entire astrolabe. "You really care about this, don't you?"

Leo glances up at her for a beat. "Yes." he says carefully. "This is very important to me." He grabs the Archimedes sphere.

"Does it…" Piper falters a moment. "Does it have anything to do with where you went?"

Leo wants to tell her no, but he's sick and tired of lying to his friends. Also it probably won't be the best scenario for him if he gets Calypso onto the ship without telling anyone about her. "Yeah." He doesn't meet Piper's eyes.

"If I gave you five minutes?" Piper tries, "would you come? In five minutes?"

"Yes." Leo says truthfully.

Piper comes toward him, her fifth finger extended. "Do you pinkie swear?"

Leo cracks a grin. They pinkie swore a lot when they went to the Wilderness School. ("Will you let me copy your homework tomorrow?" "Sure." "Do you pinkie swear?") It was a good arrangement, because Piper was good at English and Leo was good at math, so they both got along pretty well. But they haven't pinkie sworn in months.

Leo hooks pinkies with her. "Pinkie swear."

Piper beams. "Okay. I'll be watching the clock." She slips out, and Leo sets to work. The secret of the astolabe seems almost ridiculously easy now. The crystal's magic holds memories of Ogygia, including the island's starry night sky. The Archimedes sphere can harness the magic, so a non-magical person such as Leo can use it. When the crystal's information is fed into the sphere and the astrolabe, both can be hooked up to the Argo II, so Leo can navigate to Ogygia. The idea is amazingly simple, and judging from the cleverness of Odysseus and the genius of Archimedes, it's also foolproof.

Leo finishes in three minutes. He needs to run up to the deck and hook it up to Festus right now, but he knows that isn't fair to his friends. They need to get to camp as soon as possible to work things out between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood.

But he needs to get to Ogygia and save Calypso. The idea of Khione harming her terrifies him. The worst way to hurt him, he knows, is to hurt someone he loves and make it so that he'll blame himself. His mother's death haunted him for years and forced him to extinguish his fire. He kept beating himself up over Festus crashing and dying on his first quest. Even though he knew that Festus sort of got a happy ending as the figurehead of the Argo II, Leo couldnt' stop thinking up _what-if _scenarios. Now, if Calypso dies because he insisted on coming back to her...no.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else I love, Khione." Leo snarls under his breath. "You'll be getting a faceful of Super-Sized McShizzle if you mess with Calypso."

That makes him feel better. Leo leaves the astrolabe and sphere on the table and heads down to Piper's room, where everyone is gathered for movie night.

"Hi, Leo." Piper smiles as he walks in. She, Jason, and Hazel are smushed together on her bed, facing the flat screen TV on her wall. Hazel is holding a rat.

"Why are you holding a rat?" Leo asks.

Hazel looks offended. "It's a guinea pig."

"Hm. Explains why it's so fat."

Jason reaches over and strokes it lovingly. "Her name is Penelope."

Penelope turns into Frank, who falls on his bum and glowers at Jason. Then he turns back into a rat and lets Hazel cuddle him.

"That reminds me." Annabeth says. "Percy, do you still crave celery?" Everyone laughs, the story of Percy's "makeover" being common knowledge.

Percy scoffs. "No." When Annabeth produces a stalk of celery and waves it in front of his face, he remains still. But his eyes follow it. Annabeth chucks the celery out the door. Percy lets out an enourmous "REEEEEET!" and scrambles after it, knocking Annabeth out of the chair and tackling Leo. He grabs it and starts nibbling.

Everybody cracks up. Percy looks sheepish, but grins. He grabs Leo's hands and hauls him back up, then lopes back over to the chair where he and Annabeth have been sitting.

Leo laughs, wishing he didn't have to spoil the happy mood. But if he stalls, the sliver of courage he has will completely evaporate.

He clears his throat. "Uh, guys? Can I tell you something?" Jason's still giggling, but he nods at Leo.

Leo takes a deep breath. "I want to tell you what happened when I was gone."

Absolute silence. All eyes fixate on Leo, though Percy and Annabeth exchange looks. Leo hesitates, but there's no going back now.

"Okay. Khione blasted me off the ship, and I built a makeshift helicopter as I was falling. I crash landed on an island. I accidentally landed on a dining table and blew it up. She was really mad." He shoots Percy a meaningful glance. Percy bites his lip nervously.

That doesn't exactly reassure Leo, but he keeps going. "She yelled at me. She kept saying that it was a mistake, that I shouldn't be there."

Piper smiles. "She?" She grins at Hazel.

Leo gulps. "Uh, she made me go to the water and say that I wanted to leave her island. She said a magical raft would come and take me home. But it didn't. She was really upset. She explained her curse to me. Every once in a while, a hero washes up on her island. He's…" Leo grits his teeth. "He's strong and handsome and brave, and she can't help but fall in love with him. When she does, the magic raft comes, and the hero has to decide whether to stay with her forever or leave. None have stayed."

He looks at Percy. "Do you know who I'm talking about?"

Percy stares at the ground and doesn't answer. Everyone exchanges confused glances. Finally Annabeth speaks up. "Go on."

Leo continues. "She was still mad, so I left her alone and we didn't speak for a while. I found some Celestial bronze and started building a seeing device so I could see if you guys were okay. A few days later, she showed up and yelled at me because I had scared the birds off her island with my work. She also yelled at me because I hadn't been eating anything. Then she helped me fix the seeing device, and I saw the Romans getting ready to attack camp. Then the seeing device broke, and Gaea came."

Piper's expression tenses. Jason pales. Penelope (sorry, Frank) lets out a squeak. It's clear that Gaea's terror hasn't quite let up on the crew, even though she's gone. Leo can relate. Recalling her sandy form on the island makes him shiver.

"Gaea did her usual thing, said I'd fail at everything, blah, blah, blah. Then she started hassling...uh, her." Leo hesistates, feeling that what Gaea offered Calypso is too private to share. "She banished Gaea from the island. Then she helped me gather supplies and build a navigation console for a boat so I could escape."

They wait as Leo ponders what he should say next. "And then?" Jason prompts.

"Then the raft came two days later and I had to leave." Leo finishes. "The end."

Piper whistles. "No wonder you failed all your English papers. That has so many plot holes that there's almost no story."

Penelope turns into Frank. "Yeah." he says from his place on the floor. "Like, what's this girl's name?"

"Calypso." Leo says, automatically feeling like he's betrayed her just by saying her name.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Hazel asks.

"What? No! No, I don't think so. She isn't here or anything. No. No, no way." Leo says weakly. His nose bursts into flame. He pats it out.

Hazel looks smug. She puts her hand out to Frank, who grumbles but plops ten Roman denarii in her hand.

Annabeth scrutinizes him. "Why do you bring this up now?"

"I had a dream." he lies, not wanting to mention his and Calypso's conversation earlier. "She's in trouble. She's being targeted by Khione, that ice witch. I figured out how to fix that old astrolabe from Bologna. Khione's going to...to do something really bad to her if I don't get her off that island. I have to save her!"

"Then I don't see why you can't." Piper says calmly, although the worried glance she gives to Percy and Annabeth says otherwise.

"Wait a minute." Frank cuts in. "I don't want to be the bad guy here, but Leo, we have to get to New York as soon as possible. There's a lot of politics we have to work out between the two camps, and you're a crucial part of that."

"I didn't mean to-" Leo begins, but Frank waves it off. "I know you didn't mean to fire on the Forum. We all know that. But most everyone in the legion doesn't believe it. You have to formally apologize and explain what happened in front of Reyna's dogs, so everyone will know you're telling the truth. Then you can go save your girlfriend."

"She's not my…" Leo seethes. "That's not important right now. Don't you get it? Khione's going to kill her!"

"Frank's right." Percy says quietly. "Leo, you know what she would want you to do."

Leo remembers the fear in Calypso's eyes, but he also knows how mad she'd be if he put her in front of mending things with the Romans. She's want him to do the right thing.

He sighs. "Okay. You guys are right." Leo plops down to the floor in front of Piper's bed. "Let's watch the movie."

The film starts, but Leo can't concentrate on Ariel and her plights. All he can think about is Calypso, and how he somehow knows that he's sailing in the wrong direction. He's glad that he chose a seat where no one can see him, so no one knows that there are tears silently slipping down his face.

**Next time we'll catch up on how Calypso's doing. See you later! My name is Blackberry Explosion, have a good day! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, it's me, Chapter 4 is done and needs to be typed up, and here's the story, six days, yay! :) **

Chapter 3

Calypso runs from the ice, sprinting across the beach. Half-formed plans fly through her mind as she reaches the cave and starts mentally ordering the air spirits. Firewood...she sends one to gather firewood. Another one is tasked with stockpiling food. Calypso sits in front of her loom, her fingers dancing across it as she weaves the warmest fabric possible.

She pulls a new sweater over her head. Then she weaves a pair of pants of the same material and puts them on over her jeans. Style is not a priority right now. Survival is her only concern. Calypso makes two pairs of socks, then digs around until she finds the boots-warm boots. They aren't hers. Henry left them here.

Henry...Calypso hasn't thought about Henry in years. She swallows the memory. She can't afford to lose herself in heartbreak now. She puts on the boots, which are a little large even with two pairs of socks. Then she weaves a pair of gloves, a jacket, and a hat. Only her face is exposed.

Toting two blankets, she leaves the cave. Leo's lean-to and forge will be safer, she assumes. If the cave freezes over, there will be no escape. The boots slip on her heels and she stumbles in the sand.

Her servants have done her good. Enough firewood to build a bonfire is piled under Leo's lean-to. Beside it is a mound of food. Dried beef, vegetables, and fruit from her garden. Calypso's heart aches suddenly as she realizes her garden will not be able to survive the freeze. But then she inspects the food and discovers that the wind spirits have collected seeds too, seeds from every plant in her garden.

A grateful warmth fills her. "Thank you. Please, I don't know if you will survive Khione's wrath. Leave me if you can. You've done more than enough."

A warm breeze caresses her face. Calypso closes her eyes and savors it. Then it is gone. She could swear that she hears a sigh on the wind, a sigh that is bittersweet.

And that's it. She's alone.

The warmth in the air evaporates. A chill slips its way into Calypso's nose and she shivers. She wraps a blanket around herself and waits, sitting up straight and firm. Khione is coming, and she will meet her when she does.

Waiting gets boring. Calypso sits there for an hour, but she doesn't move, afraid that if she does she will somehow be separated from her supplies. She closes her eyes and starts to remember her heroes.

She's only mentioned Odysseus and Drake and Percy because of their fame. Truthfully, she has loved and lost no less than twelve heroes.

_Odysseus was first, legacy of Hermes, favored by Athena. After fifty years alone, Calypso was glad for company and stories and a hand to hold. She fell in love almost immediately, and stayed in love for seven years. But no matter his words, his compliments, he always moved back to the water, his gaze drifting across the horizon as he muttered about Penelope, how she was alone. One day, the raft came. By the time she came back out to the beach, he was a speck in the distance. _

_Next was Alex. Well, she called him Alex, but he always preferred Alexander. He spoke of dreams, dreams of owning the entire world, of building an empire to last forever. He also spoke of war and sacrifice, son of Ares that he was. Calypso liked that, loved that. But he wished to conquer more, so he conquered her heart and left her. When he slept, he whispered of a girl named Roxana. _

_Third was Julius. A fiery passion burned in his eyes, marking him a son of Zeus. Not Zeus, he corrected her. Jupiter. And hes, his sense of duty and dignity showed that he was a child of the new sky god, and also what ultimately ripped him out of her arms. He talked of bronze curls and light laughs named Octavia._

_Fourth came Leo. The first Leo. He liked it when she called him that, but he was really named Leonardo. He carried traits of the children of Apollo and Hephaestus, but he was truly a child of Athena. He drew pictures of her, portraits of people he know and inventions he wanted to build someday. But it was the little half-smile and mysterious eyes of a girl named Lisa that eventually drew him away. _

_Next was Henry, whose boots she now wears on her feet. He told her of a new world, a new land of hope and prosperity. He questioned if he'd landed there, and she said now, that she'd been here for many, many years and never found prosperity. Well then, he'd said with a wink, maybe she hadn't been looking hard enough. The son of Hermes had been clever and vivacious. But of course, there had been Katherine. He melted her heart, but after he left, it hardened like the gold he sought. _

_Sixth came Drake, child of Mercury. He was the first to instill a sense of hope in her, to speak of taking her with him and marrying her at sea. She waved him off, but hoped beyond hope that he would return. Hope was a new idea for her, but when he never came back, it became a bad idea. Hope was something that made her curse even worse. Elizabeth. _

_Then came Benedict, son of Bellona. Benedict spoke of how his drunkard father tarnished the family name. He was the sixth Benedict Arnold, he told her, but he was going to be the one to go down in history. She believed him, but she wasn't entirely sure he would eternalize his name through good. Though her heart broke again, she was almost glad when he left. Peggy. _

_Then Teddy arrived, a man who was larger than life. A child of Aphrodite, surprisingly, because of his burly form. But he had charm and wits about him, and he was jolly and brawny and filled to the brim with stories. He made her smile, and for a while she was happy. But then he left, and she wasn't happy anymore. Edith. _

_Ninth was Winston, who was grave and solemn. A child of Jupiter, worn and tired. About the was Calypso felt, so they got along nicely. He spoke in whispers of the world on the brink of war, of a son of Hades named Adolf Hitler who hated anyone who was not like him. Calypso took his hand and offered gentle support, a notion of hope that peace may be sought. He thanked her, and left her so the world may be saved. She cried, but not as much. Clementine._

_After Winston came Nelson, who told her of injustice, of prejudice and hate, stories that made her stomach turn and her fists clench. She cried at the thought of such a world, where people turned on each other because of such a slight difference as their appearances. But in Nelson she saw the power to change such a world, with quiet diplomacy rather than bloodshed. He was a Roman, a child of Mars. She let him go. He stayed for the shortest amount of time. Graçca. _

_Then Percy came, the most powerful demigod of his age. He was so ignorant and funny and caring that she couldn't help but love him. She really thought that he might be the one to stay with her, to stop her heart from being so fragile it shattered whenever anyone touched it. But Hephaestus took him away, not because he wanted to hurt her, but because the outcome of the war on Kronos depended on him._

_Percy had been so loyal and good. Calypso had dared to hope. But Percy never came back. She was heartbroken, and sick and tired of being heartbroken. And there was only one person she could blame. _

_Annabeth. Not just Annabeth, of course. It was Annabeth and Penelope and Elizabeth and Peggy and Lisa and all the others. But in Calypso's anger, she only punished Annabeth. _

She's ashamed of it now, especially because she knows that Annabeth fell into Tartarus, where she undoubtedly met the arai. She just prays that Annabeth escaped permanent harm from the curse and can someday forgive her for her selfishness and jealousy.

An icy wind nips at her ears. Calypso tugs her new cap down over than and builds a fire. She huddles in front of the crackling flames, wishing Leo was here.

Leo...gods, she misses him. He started changing things around Ogygia from the second he arrived. She looks over at the crater where her table once stood and smiles. Thinking about him almost gives her hope that she can survive this nightmare.

A sudden burst of frosty air rips her smile away. Calypso looks up and gasps. The once clear sky above her is gray, clouds hanging low. As she watches in horror, snow starts falling. The first flake lands on her upturned face, stinging with cold.

She glances over to the place where the ice started. The frozen layer has spread about a hundred feet from the seeing device and has spread about a hundred feet from the seeing device and is crawling towards her.

Calypso swallows her fear and scoots closer to the fire. She starts to shiver and curls up into a little ball of despair.

Khione is here. Khione is here and there's nothing Calypso can do.

**And that's it, I'm in a hurry if you couldn't tell, so mynameisBlackberryExplosionhaveagreatday! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry it took forever, and that I didn't finish before BoO came out. PLEASE NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. I've finished but that doesn't mean other people have. Don't give anything away. Oh, and I've decided to make this an AU so I can take my sweet time finishing it. Hopefully I'll be able to update more soon, and I'm not abandoning anything. That includes the prank war. Hang in there, guys! Hope you enjoy! :) **

Chapter 4

Leo wrings his hands,fiddling with random odds and ends he's shoved into his pockets. Annabeth said the occasion was too formal to wear his toolbelt, which Leo considers a violation of his free rights. Sweat courses down his neck. He adjusts his tie.

Piper places a hand on his thigh. "Quit fidgeting." she hisses. "Be professional."

"I'm not a professional person!" Leo hisses back.

"Well, fake it!" Piper retorts. "Shhh!"

Leo grumbles and looks back at Reyna, who addresses the crowd of demigods cramming the amphitheater. She gives a speech about how the Romans and Greeks need to become allies. "Gaea almost destroyed human civilization because we were occupied with fighting between ourselves. It took the combination of both Roman and Greek powers that kept her at bay. Can anyone here deny that?"

Murmurs echo across the crowd, but no one speaks.

Frank stands beside her, the heavy purple praetor's cloak draped across his shoulders. Leo feels for him. That thing must be _hot. _"The Greeks only desire peace between our two camps." he agrees. "The war between us nearly ripped us apart. Because of it, Gaea had an opening to rise and destroy us. Demigods - all demigods - have to come together against our foes. If we don't, if the fighting continues, we might as well have let Gaea rise."

Leo hears a tiny sniffle beside him and turns to see Hazel looking at Frank. Her eyes shine with pride. Leo fishes a tissue out of his tool belt and hands it to her. "I told you Frank Zhang has moves." he whispers. Hazel gives him a glowing smile.

Frank continues his speech. "No matter our backgrounds, no matter where we come from or who we are, we are all demigods. Greek or Roman, we all stand together against a common enemy. We all deserve a future united, together as one."

The speeches are delivered especially towards the Romans, but Leo can see the effect it has on the Greeks as well. He hears Clarisse sigh contentedly behind him. "I like these Romans." she says appreciatively. Next to him, Hazel's bawling. Jason's smile is huge, and Annabeth gives Frank a sly thumbs up.

Leo can't help but admire Frank. He isn't the boy who got stuck in a Chinese finger trap anymore. Combined with Reyna's warrior strength, Frank's tactical skills-whether on the battlefield or in front of a crowd- will promote his success as praetor. Leo's really proud of Frank. He's definitely grown throughout this journey.

Leo wonders if he's grown or changed throughout the quest too. He doesn't feel like the same person he was last winter, when he almost got chucked off the Grand Canyon. He feels older. Maybe smarter. He's almost died a hundred times over. He's saved his friend's lives, and they've saved his. He's built a giant flying warship, his masterpiece. He's saved the world and faced his ultimate fears. He's made friends, lost friends. He's fallen in love.

_Whoa, where did that come from? _He berates himself, but he somehow knows it's true. Which scares the crap out of him, of course, but at the same time, he feels an overwhelming sense of peace with himself. He does love Calypso. And he's going to get her back.

Piper squeezes his shoulder. Leo looks up and sees Reyna and Frank staring at him expectantly. Oops. While he was writing himself a monolougue, he's missed his cue.

Leo stands hurriedly and shuffles out of his row, feeling the eyes of a bajillion people on him. Okay, maybe not a bajillion, but still. His feet carry him up onto the stage and he thanks the gods that he didn't trip.

The sun is bright, and Leo blinks, momentarily blinded. "Um, hi. I'm Leo." The lines he practiced with Jason and Annabeth and Piper and Reyna and Frank and Hazel and all by himself in front of the mirror vanish from his mind. He can't see anyone in the audience. Good thing. He doesn't imagine all of them are excited to see him.

Leo pretends that Calypso is beside him, her steadying hand on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath. "Um, you probably know me as the guy who fired on your city. I'm here today to say that I'm sorry. I know some of you lost friends that day. I know how that feels. I've lost people I love too." Images of his mom, a full-bodied Festus, Calypso chase each other across his mind. "I'll be frank with you. It completely sucks that what happened that day happened, and even though it wasn't preventable, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Anyone who was on the ship with me can tell you that. Frank can. So can Hazel. So can Jason. And I just want to let you know that when Percy got on that ship. he almost slived me apart for what I did. Every demigod has a fatal flaw. Mine is that I can't ever stop feeling guilty about bad things, even when they weren't my fault. And I swear on my life, I'll never stop feeling terrible for what I did. All I ask is that you find it in your hearts to forgive me. Thank you."

Swallowing back the bile rising in his throat, Leo turns to look at Reyna and her automaton dogs. Aurum and Augentum stay still and attentive beside their mistress. Reyna fixes him with a stare and gives him an almost imperceptible nod.

Leo gets off that stage as fast as he can. He makes his way to his row, sits, and exhales. The amphitheater is silent. Hazel takes one of his hands and Piper takes the other.

Reyna looks at him solemnly. "Thank you." He catches an almost-smile on her face.

Jason leans over Piper and whispers in his ear. "You did it, Leo. It's over now." He grins and gets up.

Leo heaves a sigh of relief, then turns back to the praetors. Annabeth, Percy, and Jason are up on the stage now. They are discussing peace, unity. Leo tries hard to listen, but his thoughts drift out to sea, where he'd rather be right now. Sailing his ship back to her.

His attention diverts when Jason and Percy face each other and cut their hands with their swords. Annabeth and Reyna do the same. They clasp hands. A blood oath.

"Behold." all four say, their voices ringing and echoing. "Greeks and Romans stand together."

Frank brings Octavian up onto the stage in front of Aurum and Augentum. "The augeries?" he says cheerfully.

Octavian looks like Frank just asked him to wallow in a pit full of cow manure and chicken guts. "The auguries align." he says through gritted teeth. "Romans and Grae-Greeks stand together." He looks at Frank with hate.

Frank smiles. "Thank you, Octavian. You may sit now." Octavian clenches his fists and stalks away.

Chiron gives some closing remarks, and it ends. The consensus among the demigods is pretty much unanimous. Turns out not that many people want war, bloodshed, and death. Leo is the first out of his chair and bolts for the Argo II. Naturally, he doesn't get far.

"Leo! You were amazing!" Piper throws her arms around him.

Leo squirms. "Piper, I need to, you know-"

"Hey, did you hear?" Hazel jogs up to them, her ballet flats flapping. "Franks says there's going to be a big party tonight."

"Really?" Leo asks weakly. It might surprise you, but he hates parties. He's pretty introverted. He'd rather be mingling with his machines than talking to people. More productive. And fun.

"Really." Percy strolls up, hand in hand with Annabeth. "I heard we're all being teleported to Olympus!"

Annabeth hits his chest playfully. "Don't spread rumors. The party'll be here. Although the Nine Muses are provideing the music."

"Seriously?" Percy looks impressed.

Piper scratches at her back where the tag of her dress should be. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but this dress is freaking _itchy. _I'm going to go change."

Frank scowls. "At least you don't have to wear this dumb cape. I'm _dying." _

"That's like the worst part of being praetor, bud." Jason chuckles. "I'd say you'll get used to it, but you probably won't." Frank groans. Hazel giggles.

Leo smiles anxiously, trying to inch away from the group. Annabeth saves him. "Let's all change into comfortable clothes and meet back here in fifteen minutes." she says.

"Okay." everyone agrees. Leo mutters something about how all his clothes are still on the Argo II and takes off across the green. His ship is anchored near the entrance to the woods, and inside are his clothes, his tool belt, his dragon, his table, and his astrolabe/sphere. Basically everything he'll need to rescue an immortal gardener girl from an island that doesn't exist.

Leo climbs aboard the ship and raises the gangplank. He punches in a few commands and talks to Festus about what he needs to do. Then he rushes downstairs, grabs the sphere and an astrolabe, and hooks it up to Festus. His contraption hums with energy. Leo grins. He's going to fulfill his oath. He's going to get back to her.

"Going somewhere?"

Leo nearly jumps out of his skin. Slowly, he turns around and meets Percy's eyes. Percy's leaning casually against the wall, but his gaze is hard as ice. The joking, playful demigod from ten minutes ago is gone.

"Uh…" Leo's sweating. Possibly the only thing scarier than an angry Nico di Angelo is an angry Percy Jackson. With his stomach wallowing somewhere near his throat, Leo straightens up and nods. "Yes. I am. You-you're coming?"

"No." Percy's light tone sounds pretty fake. "Just here to see you off."

"Okay." Leo waits, hoping he doesn't sound as frightened as he feels.

Percy fixes him with a cold stare. "I don't appreciate you lying to our friends, Leo. I know you're doing the right thing, but that's no excuse for leaving without a word. Piper and Hazel are going to be worried sick. Frank will immediately assume the worst. Jason will insist on searching the entire camp for you, and when they don't find you, there'll be widespread panic. And Annabeth will figure out where you are in a minute. And everyone will be upset with you for not telling us you were leaving. Did that ever cross your mind?"

Leo feels like his tongue has been glued to the roof of his mouth. He stares wide-eyed at the son of Poseidon. Percy's eyes gleam with anger, almost..._malice. _Leo wonders how he could be so different from the carefree guy he was five minutes ago. Maybe, Leo theorizes, Percy's mood is like the sea. Sometimes he's relaxed and tranquil, calm and smooth as the ocean on a clear day. Other days he's the storm, waves crashing and thundering with his anger. And now Annabeth isn't here to reign his storm in.

Leo moistens his lips nervously. "I-I'm sorry." he finally gets out, but the words sound empty.

Percy doesn't look satisfied. He pulls Riptide out of his pocket and twirls it threatiningly through his fingers. "I'm not just mad at you."

"Great." Leo mutters. Then he sees Percy sneak a vicious glance at the crystal on his console. Leo's stomach tightens. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Percy looks back at Leo, and something in his gaze softens. "Tell her I'm not forgiving her for what she did, but I don't expect her to forgive me for what I did. I don't want her to forgive me for leaving her alone. It was wrong."

"Okay." Leo mumbles, seriously afraid that he's going to wet his pants. "Uh, what did, what did she do?"

"She can tell you." Percy slips Riptide back into his pocket. He walks over to Leo. "Don't leave her." he says.

"Uh, what?"

"Don't leave her alone like I did. Don't break her heart like I did, and like Odysseus and whoever else did. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves someone like you to spring her from that hellhole of an island and made her happy. You love her the way she deserves someone to love her. And tell her-" Percy visibly swallows. "Tell her I'm sorry."

That sounds doable. Leo smiles, relieved. "Don't worry. I will."

Percy grins. "Good." He sticks out a hand and Leo takes it. They shake. "Go get her." Percy tells him. Then he turns and dives off the ship into the ocean. It's a hundred-foor drop, but Leo isn't worried. He spurs Festus and looks out to sea. Somewhere out there, waiting for him, is Calypso.

"I'm coming, Sunshine." he tells her. "Hold on. I'm almost there."

**Yeah. I'm thinking I'll cast Octavian out of the camp soon enough, and then the Seven can be at some random mall and they'll go in the Build-a-Bear and guess who's working there. :D Ha. Ha. Ha. My name is Blackberry Explosion, have a great day! :) **


End file.
